ROGER HUNT and Neville Southall, legends at Liverpool and Everton respectively, tell us about their clubs’ situation and what the future holds.

Neville Southall: Everton have done well. If they could have turned a couple of draws into wins, then it would have made things easier going into Christmas. They have played some exciting football, been a bit more open and I do think they have half a chance of finishing fourth if they can buy in January. It is important they buy because, if they don’t strengthen, they might slip a bit.

Roger Hunt: It has all been a bit experimental for Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers has given some of the kids a chance when you wouldn’t have thought they would get it, but he is doing a good job. Losing to Aston Villa was a setback, but Liverpool had most of the play and they missed chances again. They are relying on Luis Suarez too much really. At the moment it’s a work in progress. The manager wants to pass out of defence and that takes time for players to get used to.

Hasn’t passing always been a hallmark of Liverpool’s play, though?

RH: Yes, but it is a slower way of building up than in my day. Usually when the ball is in and around your own area you get it away, but Brendan wants the team to do it his way. Sometimes I think they should pass it about more when they are further upfield. I also feel Steven Gerrard is more effective when he is pushing forward, not playing deep.

NS: They have got Plan A but when opponents push right on top of Liverpool, what is Plan B? It reminds me a bit of Everton under Mike Walker. Sometimes they over-play, too many touches in their own half. When they get it right, it looks spectacular, when they don’t, they get caught and give silly goals away.

What is realistic for both teams this season?

RH: It’s a season of transition for Liverpool. If they finish in the top half, is that acceptable for Liverpool? If it has to be for now, then yes. Then it is all about strengthening the team. They desperately need a striker.

NS: Everton have to aim for fourth place. They have to back the manager in January and to tell the fans, ‘We’re not a selling club. We will build on this’. If they sell in January and don’t bring anyone in, it is like saying to the fans, ‘We don’t care about you’. If they finish fourth, everything will snowball from there.

RH: After the FA Cup semi-final defeat by us last season, I thought David Moyes might move on. Ten years is a long time to manage one club and they should have done better than they did at Wembley. But he has carried on and it looks as if they will be in the shake-up for fourth place. They have a lot of good players.

NS: There is nowhere for David to go yet. Winning something with Everton would do him the world of good. People say, ‘He’s a good manager, but can he spend £40million on a player?’ You don’t know until you give him a chance. For me, he can manage at the top level. His contract is up at the end of the season and he is holding out because he knows his team aren’t complete and wants the club to match his ambition.

It has all been a bit experimental for Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers has given some of the kids a chance when you wouldn’t have thought they would get it, but he is doing a good job

Roger Hunt

Do you wonder if the good times for the clubs will ever return?

NS: It goes in cycles, but money plays such an important part now. The one thing I would say is that the fans on Merseyside have been incredibly patient. Arsene Wenger is getting hammered at Arsenal, but we haven’t won anything for 10 years under Moyes. The fans at Liverpool have had to put up with a lot too.

What about football in general? Was it better in the Sixties for you, Roger, and the Eighties and Nineties for you, Neville?

NS: Even though we played in different eras, when we played men were still men.

RH: There was none of this diving and tugging people in the penalty area. Most teams like to play good football, although I’m not including Stoke in that. It’s just all the other stuff that goes on. I never ever dived, or feigned injury, in my career because I wouldn’t want someone to think I was hurt.

NS: Even in my day you went on to the pitch showing no fear. What you don’t realise until you finish is what you do on the pitch affects the kids out there. I’ve coached youngsters and they’re starting to throw themselves on the floor, pretending to be injured.

RH: When I was at Liverpool, it was a crime to be injured. Bill Shankly would ignore you. You were no good to him. “Look at those malingerers,” he’d say.

What changes would you make to the Premier League?

NS: The only way referees are going to get any credibility back is if they are amateur again. Once they take the money, they have to be perfect and human beings can’t be perfect.

RH: It’s time to get the diving sorted out. It has to come from the club managers and the FA. No one wants to see players lying on the floor all the time. A few red cards would soon stop it.

Neville Southall and Roger Hunt were speaking at the launch of The Football Pools 90 Day Community Challenge at St Helens Junior Football Club, who received funding of £50,000. For more information email communitychallenge@sthelenstownjfc.co.uk . Play The Football Pools at www.footballpools.com Roger Hunt and Neville Southall, legends at Liverpool and Everton respectively, tell Paul Joyce about their clubs’ situation and what the future holds‘David Moyes wants Everton to match his ambition’